West Metro Fire Rescue
Report to the
Community 2010 Year in Review
The year 2010 was a year during which West Metro Fire Rescue embraced the rapidly expanding world of technology to improve the way we deliver services. West Metro Fire Rescue has always relied upon technology for our daily work. Whether we are monitoring cardiac rhythms or using infrared cameras to track heat sources, technology plays a significant role in our daily operations. West Metro is now part of the social networking community, using this technology to boost communication and education efforts. RSS feeds, Tweets, Facebook Postings, Flickr pictures, YouTube videos and our new website are helping West Metro reach out and deliver life safety services and information on a daily basis.
westmetrofire.org
Report to the
Community 2010 Year in Review
Letter to the Community I always appreciate the opportunity to let you know how much we enjoy serving you. West Metro Fire Rescue continues to see our call volume increase, especially for emergency medical calls. Our ability to have a fire fighter paramedic on every piece of fire apparatus allows us to efficiently and effectively serve those in need. We have increased our fire fighters’ training and are truly an all-hazard agency. We continue to maximize training hours at the Training Center without requiring our personnel to leave the District. We are expanding the marketing efforts for the West Metro Fire Rescue Training Center so that we can reach out to other fire and emergency agencies to assist them in meeting their training requirements and increase our revenues. For the first time in the last 16 years we had to postpone and reschedule our annual Family Fire Muster. Our original June date was inundated by heavy rain and we moved it to August. We had great weather, slightly less participation because of the change in date, but enjoyed a great August summer day. All those who participated learned a lot about safety and had a great time. We completed the rebuild of Fire Stations 4 and 8. These two incredible facilities will serve our fire fighters and surrounding communities well into the future. We also broke ground on Fire Station 5, our final fire station to be rebuilt, which will be completed summer of 2011. We look forward to the challenges 2011 will bring and the opportunity to continue serving you. Please take care and be safe. Sincerely,
Douglas McBee Fire Chief
Fire-Related Calls 8,086 West Metro responded to 403 confirmed structure fires in 2010. Top 3 causes of fire: w Equipment Failure/ Heat Source (furnace, dryer, appliance) w Smoking Materials (matches, lighters, cigarettes, etc.) w Electrical
WEST METRO FIRE RESCUE
2010 CALLS
Medical Calls 15,840 66% of West Metro’s responses are for medical emergencies: w 68% Medical/Illness w 32% Trauma/Injury
Total Calls 23,926
Fire, Medical and Rescue Response In 2010, West Metro Fire Rescue responded to 23, 926 emergencies. The majority (66%) of our 911 emergencies continue to be for medical illness and injury. Several unusual incidents in 2010 left lasting impressions.
During the dry, summer months and into the fall, West Metro responded to several grass and wildland fires. Two of the most significant fires occurred along the hogback - one near C-470 and Morrison Road in August and a second near the Lockheed Martin complex in October.
Easter morning brought a crash of a helicopter on top of Mount Morrison and a semi-truck load of hay caught fire during an afternoon rush hour on C470 in April. Much to our community’s dismay, West Metro paramedics responded to a shooting in February at Deer Creek Middle School. Fortunately, everyone survived that terrible incident.
Apparatus West Metro operates an internal apparatus replacement fund that enables us to replace very expensive trucks and equipment when they have run their course without asking the taxpayers to fund new equipment. West Metro replaced two medic units and two fire engines in 2010. Fire engines are generally replaced every 20 years and ambulances replaced every ten because of the high mileage they accrue.
Call Response by Station This chart illustrates the number of calls the crews assigned to each station responded to in 2010. The total number is different from the total number of incidents (23,926) because multiple resources respond to individual incidents. Some stations house more than one response vehicle, while others operate as a single resource.
Station Construction Update
Station 4
Station 8
West Metro completed construction on Station 4 (on Green Mountain/West Alameda) and Station 8 (near Jewell and Garrison). Station 5 in the Applewood community was demolished and construction on the final bond-funded project began. Station 5 will reopen summer 2011 bringing with it much needed technologies and space for the fire fighters who work there.
Station 5
Reopens Summer 2011
West Metro Fire Rescue Training Center The West Metro Fire Rescue Training Center celebrated its first full year of operation and provided thousands of hours of training to West Metro Fire Fighters. Dozens of regional and national training events were held at the center, bringing tremendous opportunities to further develop fire fighter skills and knowledge.
Emergency Medical Services
Beyond running the daily medical calls, West Metro’s emergency medical services were required at many major events throughout our District. In 2010, those events included Mile High Nationals at Bandimere; the Motocross Nationals at Thunder Valley in June; and the Motocross of Nations at Thunder Valley in September. This international event brought thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts from around the world to Lakewood for the two-day event. In addition to providing the emergency medical care on site during the event, West Metro assisted with traffic access to and from the event, and ensured life safety issues were addressed in the campground that was put in place to house participants and spectators. West Metro’s special event paramedics provided emergency medical services at Red Rocks Amphitheater throughout the summer months. West Metro Fire Rescue also received a grant from the Colorado Department of Health EMS Division that enabled West Metro to purchase new, state-of-the-art cardiac monitors for each of our nine ambulances.
In 2010, West Metro Fire Rescue responded to 23,926 emergencies. The majority (66%) of our 911 emergencies continue to be for medical illness and injury.
Financials West Metro Fire Rescue aims to promote financial sustainability with each budget year. That means maintaining a balanced annual budget with current expenditures paid from current revenue. Additionally, West Metro funds and operates sufficient reserves for capital improvements and apparatus Strong financial planning and replacement to help pay for large ticket forecasting of resources and items, like fire trucks. cash flows help us prioritize and meet the District’s longterm needs.
2010 Revenues In 2010, West Metro Fire Rescue general fund revenues were $50.3 million. Property taxes account for about 75% of all revenues received by the district.
2010 Expenditures Expenditures for 2010 were $50 million.
2010 Reserves Total reserves, including those required by law and those designated by our Board of Directors, were maintained at $17.2 million in 2010. This provides West Metro Fire Rescue with the ability to implement changes necessary in uncertain economic environments.
Education and Information West Metro’s Community Outreach Division and fire fighters delivered educational programs to more than 156,000 people in our community in 2010. These efforts are intended to help lower the incidence of fire and injuries in our community. Through classroom and community presentations, we aim to prevent losses resulting from fires and injuries.
Citizen Fire Academy West Metro’s Citizen Fire Academy graduated ten community leaders after they completed 11 weeks of classroom and hands-on lessons designed to share with them the inner workings of the fire service and West Metro Fire Rescue.
citizen 20
10 fire
Academy
westmetrofire.org West Metro launched a new website in December 2010. The new site features many advances to help West Metro communicate with our community, including: • RSS Feeds so people can sign up to receive updates and information specific to their interests • Photo and Video Gallery • Audio public service announcements • Highlights on each division, station and special team • New forms to make it easy for people to register for classes • E-commerce for collecting fees, donations, and course registrations • Quick links to West Metro's Facebook, YouTube, Flickr sites The site is much easier to navigate through and find information. We invite you to visit westmetrofire.org to get the latest fire and injury news and information.
RSS Feeds so people can sign up to receive updates and information specific to their interests Photo and Video Gallery
Audio public service announcements
Highlights on each division, station and special team
New forms to make it easy for people to register for classes
E-commerce for collecting fees, donations, and course registrations Quick links to West Metro's Facebook, YouTube, Flickr sites
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Volunteers Volunteers make things happen. At West Metro Fire Rescue, our volunteers are vital to our success in reaching our community. Our volunteers worked nearly 4,600 hours that are valued at more than $92,441. Their dedicated efforts helped West Metro provide fire and injury prevention education to more than 156,000 in 2010. West Metro’s outreach volunteers assist with preparing educational materials; checking child safety seats; working events; and teaching classes.
They are integral partners in helping us keep our community safe.
Events West Metro Fire Rescue held several community events in 2010 to celebrate the completion of projects. In May, Station 4 was officially opened for business with hundreds of neighbors touring the facility and meeting their fire fighters. Station 8 opened the following week with its own open house and hundreds more joined that celebration. The West Metro Fire Rescue Kids Club held events throughout the year to encourage families to learn and practice fire and injury prevention in the home. A Spring Egg Hunt, Safe Trick or Treat Street at Whole Foods Belmar, and Breakfast with Santa each gave hundreds of families the opportunity to learn, practice and play. The West Metro Fire Rescue Training Center opened its doors to the public in October, giving citizens the chance to learn how we train our fire fighters to handle their emergencies. And the Family Fire Muster experienced its first rainout in 16 years. For over a week, heavy spring rains drenched the community forcing West Metro to postpone the event. In August, more than 6,000 people joined us at Red Rocks Community College for this annual summer family tradition that gives families fun activity stations to practice life safety lessons.
Life Safety and Prevention Helping keep our community safe away from home is a primary mission for West Metro’s Life Safety Division. In 2010, thousands of hours were spent reviewing construction plans for the new St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood. West Metro’s fire marshals review construction plans to ensure the projects meet the fire code, and life safety systems, like sprinklers and detection systems, are located where they need to be to keep people safe once the building becomes open for business.
West Metro also spent significant time on the RTD Light Rail project being built on the north end of our district. West Metro is reviewing plans for parking structures and other buildings along the light rail route while ensuring access and egress routes are maintained during construction.
West Metro’s fire marshals review construction plans to ensure the projects meet the fire and life safety system codes.
Accreditation West Metro Fire Rescue is now a candidate for accreditation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence, Inc. The process of accreditation for fire departments is quite comprehensive and provides for many community benefits. The primary benefit is having a broadly-based review of how we do business conducted by other accredited agencies. The purpose of the review is to evaluate how effectively West Metro provides emergency services and examines quality improvements. The accreditation process will validate how West Metro is meeting or exceeding industry standards and compares us to other best practice organizations. It also aligns our operations with our strategic planning goals and objectives and reinforces the collaborative relationships we have with other public and private agencies. The bottom line is that by becoming an accredited organization, we will continually raise the bar on meeting our community’s needs and expectation. The process takes about two years.
Be involved & have a voice: It’s easy to get involved with West Metro Fire Rescue and ensure your voice is heard. West Metro Contact your publicly elected Board of Fire Rescue’s Family Fire Directors to share your thoughts and Muster opinions by calling 303-989-4307 or visiting Sat., westmetrofire.org. Board meetings are open June 11, to the public and held the first and third 2011 Tuesdays of each month, 7 p.m., at West Red Rocks Community Metro Fire Rescue’s Administration Building, College, Lakewood 433 South Allison Parkway in Lakewood.
Save the date! Saturday, June 11, 2011
FREE! 9:30 a.m. 2 p.m.
SMOKE ALARMS & CARBON MONOXIDE ALARMS SAVE LIVES. ARE YOURS WORKING?
sm
westmetrofire.org
Rain date June 18, 2011.
No pets!
Muster volunteers needed! Call 303-989-4307 x537 for more information.
Administration .............................. ext. 510 or 514 Public information, events, media information ................................................................ext. 523 or 547 School/educational presentations, and car seat information ....................ext. 506 Sponsorships/Business Partnerships ................................................................ext. 523 or 554 Station tours ....................................ext. 510 Fire Prevention/Inspection ....ext. 510 Fire Investigations ........................ext. 531 Juvenile Firesetter Information ext. 554
West Metro Fire Rescue Administrative Offices 3039894307 Ambulance Billing........................ext. 526 or 525 Human Resources........................ext. 548 or 550 Board of Directors........................ext. 514 EMS Division..................................ext. 557 Training Center ............................(720) 963-6300 Human Resources Job Line ....(303) 989-3968 Non-Emergency Dispatch ......(303) 969-0245 Non-Fire Fighter Volunteer Opportunities ................................................................ext. 537
For Emergencies-Dial 911